


From Beginning to End

by Wanderbird



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Torchwood
Genre: Also Jack and Ianto are poly, Casually agender Jack, Even if it doesn't come up much, Genderfluid Loki (Marvel), Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Torture, Incidentally demi-ace Ianto, Not that he really shows up here, Other, Partly post-Infinity War, So be warned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2018-09-24
Packaged: 2019-07-16 14:30:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16088021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wanderbird/pseuds/Wanderbird
Summary: Just a little oneshot in between chapters of my current longform fic, because there is a terrible lack of Loki/Jack stuff here.Basically, after falling off the Bifrost in the Dark World, Loki ends up falling through the Rift into another universe, and things continue from there.Minor revisions 11/20/18





	From Beginning to End

**Author's Note:**

> I might revise this later, and I might add more, I mean I do think I like this au. But not right now.  
> For detailed content warnings, see the endnotes.
> 
> In other news: I am so glad polyamory is a thing, because I love Janto, but Jack is way too horny for only having one boyfriend, and this was very fun.

To tell the truth, Jack didn’t know _what_ he’d been thinking.  
“Gwen—” he couldn’t even get that one word out before she ran over his words, the sarcasm apparent in her voice.  
“And so you just decided, hey! Why don’t I kidnap this man lying comatose in an alleyway? Jack, you can’t—”  
“He’s not _from_ here!”  
“Oh, so he might even get us in trouble with somebody else’s government, even better.” Gwen crossed her arms. “Really, Jack?”  
"You know that's not what I meant."  
“He’s awake.” A quiet voice interrupted their argument. Tosh swiveled her chair to face them, and presented the surveillance footage. “One of you had better go down and explain.”   
Perfect. He let out a sigh. “I’ll talk to him.”

        Loki wasn’t entirely sure why he decided to stay in this cell. Obviously he could have left, practically as easy as breathing even without the power left behind in Asgard’s filthy cells, but—he supposed he may as well learn who thought they could hold him in a simple box. Perhaps it would be entertaining.  
He revised that estimate when a Midgardian man strode into the room on the other side of the glass. This would _absolutely_ be entertaining.  
“Hey.” The man was moderately tall, and muscular for a Midgardian, his pale blue shirt only just large enough to accommodate his frame without being truly ill-fitting. More intriguing, while his mouth pursed itself in a gentle frown, those eyes shone with a certain glimmer of mirth which belied his outward expression.  
The god said nothing, merely raising an eyebrow in response.  
“The name’s Captain Jack Harkness,” the Midgardian continued. “You gonna tell me yours, or do I have to guess?”  
A smirk. “Guess,” Loki let just a hint of tongue flicker between his lips. How long had it been since he had enjoyed truly _playing_ with another being? He certainly hadn’t had the chance in Asgard, the closest he’d come had been some impertinent fondling from a few of the guards, and thanks to that damned collar, he hadn’t even been able to take their hands off for such unwelcome ‘compliments’. And after that—well, he’d managed to escape, and left an illusion in his place, but could hardly move freely among the populace of Asgard with Heimdall about. Loki ended up spending a week or so in some cave instead, waiting for his seidr to trickle back within his grasp. When the visions of Thanos began to besiege him once more, he’d made a hurried retreat, walking between worlds on what little power had returned, only to collide with some flying blue cubical monstrosity and... fall. Somehow, despite the obvious lack of gravity. In any case, his life had contained little save dullness and desperation since before the Chitauri.  
Finally, the Midgardian spoke once more. “Do you know where you are?”  
“A cell.”  
“I mean beyond that.” The man huffed. “Planet? Country? What’ve you got?”  
Legs crossed, Loki considered the stranger. “What do you think to do with me in a cell, in any case?”  
“I’ll take that as a no.” The Midgardian leaned back against the wall before continuing. “You’re on Earth, in case you hadn’t figured that out. And normally, when someone asks you a question, it’s polite to answer it.”  
“Normally, it’s polite not to lock someone up in a prison cell for no apparent reason,” the god countered. “At least not without asking.” A lick of the lips, slow and sensual. “Not that I would necessarily object.”

        Jack bit down firmly on the inside of his cheek. The team was watching. “It’s just for safekeeping, and you can think of me like the friendly extraterrestrial customs officer.” He cracked a brief smile. “Where’re you from?”  
“That’s a complicated question, Captain Jack.”  
Oh thank _fuck,_ he wasn’t wrong about this dude being an alien. He’d _thought_ something seemed off, enough that he probably wasn’t just some cosplayer lying drunk in the middle of the street. “I’ve got time.”  
“Well,” a predatory grin sliced its way across the prisoner’s face. “You could say I’m from Asgard.” He stood, and in a fluid motion pressed himself against the glass. “Others would say I’m from somewhere a little… lower.”  
Jack cleared his throat. Was this guy trying to imply he was from hell? An incubus? Succubus?  
“You can call me Loki.” Black hair dripping down the guy’s face, he took a step, and—phased through the wall? “I don’t suppose that you’re with SHIELD?” Long fingers plucked at the Captain’s shirt, but it seemed to be more out of curiosity than malice. “You don’t seem to be wearing their atrocious eyesore of a uniform.”  
“SHIELD?” Jack’s hand slipped into his coat pocket to the pistol concealed there. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m with Torchwood. Why are you here?”  
“Outside my little glass box?” Loki mused. “What would I be doing in there?”  
Jack couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something far more dangerous about this stranger than there seemed. And yet—he hadn’t showed any signs of attacking, hadn’t been overtly evil. Just wandered out _through the solid wall of the cell_. But he couldn’t shoot an overly friendly alien for that alone. Finally, Jack tore himself from his thoughts. “You know what I mean. What are you doing on Earth?”  
“You mean your second Midgard?” The alien took another step closer, one hand combing back a lock of Jack’s hair even as he stood there. A little hum. “Well. It looks like I must be here for you.” That raised hand tensed, his eyes narrowed, and when the alien—Loki’s—hand began to trace a sensuous path down along his body, several inches from the skin, a warm gold light followed it. And behind that warm gold light—the alien's clothing was changed, no longer dirty and battered but clad in a trench coat of dizzyingly pure black, accented with emerald and gold above a sheer, comfortable-looking green shirt and leather pants to make the likes of David Bowie jealous. “What do you say, Captain?”  
So, uh. Maybe the prisoner not being able to consent to anything because of the power differential wasn’t a problem, after all. Jack gave a swallow, trying not to let his discomfort show as he took another step back. “Well as much as I like the thought, I’ve got a job to do here.” Damnit, he wasn’t even that near the other man. Why did Loki have to be this enticing? Maybe the weird demon theory had the right idea. “Look, did you fall through the Rift or something?” A quick glance at the camera. Could Gwen, or Tosh, or _somebody_ maybe think to send a little help?  
“Rift." The alien's eyes were fixed rather lower than Jack's eyes, but at that they flickered upward for a moment. "Hmm. I suppose that might be it. Don’t worry, Captain, I mean your world no particular harm.” Loki appeared to draw himself up, suddenly seeming to be… more than he had a moment earlier. Colder. Regal. “But if there is anything else you wish to know, you will have to find it out yourself. I tire of these games.” He may as well stay on this second Midgard, though. Loki could feel it in the air, this truly was another plane, another universe—one that, if nothing else, should be free for the time being of the will of Thanos and the dreams which had resumed their brutal duty as harbingers as he curled in that lonely cave on Asgard.

With a last flirtatious glance and a burst of green, Loki vanished.

~~~

        He really hadn’t expected to see the Loki again, at least not in such a normal setting (taking over the world would have been another story). And yet… here he was, lounging on a park bench with circles under his eyes so dark they looked like bruises. Wait— _was_ that a bruise? Tucked beneath the high collar of his plain black suit? And his hair, longer and unbrushed, was that blood crusted in beside his scalp? Jack changed course to stride over toward him. Or… her?  
“Loki.”  
No response. Or at least, there was no verbal response. The alien’s knuckles clenched around the back of the bench, and their jaw tightened visibly.  
Jack sat down. “C’mon, Loki. Talk to me.”  
At last those freezing emerald eye opened, their gaze fixed on the horizon. “Captain.”  
“You okay?”  
A wince. “Absolutely stunning.”  
“You certainly look it,” Jack meant it. Mysterious possibly-bruises and tangled hair aside, Loki was still a work of art, even with the probably-breasts and slightly curvier fat distribution that he hadn’t noticed before. “But as your friendly extraterrestrial customs officer, it’s kinda my job to make sure the planet’s safe. If there’s something big and bad enough to do some damage to the guy—the _person,"_ he corrected, "who can apparently phase through solid walls, that’s something I need to worry about.”  
“Why would you think I took—” the haughty voice faltered into silence, and Loki’s eyes flickered down. What could she even say? That half the universe was about to die, but it wasn’t here, so it didn’t matter? Obviously it did. Thor was probably dead already, and Sigrun, and the ever-irritating Gatekeeper, and Banner would have to be, soon—but Loki would never know for sure, because as soon as Thanos left, she’d summoned the last of her remaining seidr and gone for a good, long planeswalk. Or rather, cast herself from her body as the ship exploded, made her way to the edge of the Rift, and hurtled herself through in the hopes of surviving the fall a second time. Her fingernails gouged into the wood of the park bench, here, and the pain was almost comforting. At least she was still alive.  
“What are your pronouns?”  
“What?” That was enough to jerk Loki from her reverie.  
“You look different from the last time I saw you. Your body, I mean, not just your clothes,” Jack gave a crooked grin, “I figured I should double-check. What are your pronouns?”  
Well. There was another aspect in which this version of Midgard was infinitely superior to Thor’s, it seemed: the people here already had some notion of gender as separate from physical sex, or at least the Captain did. At that, the first genuine smile to grace Loki’s face in years appeared, small though it was. “Right now? She. I am a woman for the time being.”  
“So it changes?” Jack asked. He didn’t seem surprised, precisely, just… curious. “Not that it’s any of my business, if you don’t want to say anything.”  
Loki blinked. “It does. It… varies, from moment to moment.” A pause. “Did you know, you are probably the first Midgardian to ask me that? Or at least to ask that honestly, without actually meaning to convince me of how wrong I am?” Banner had been acceptable, but then Banner hadn’t asked. He’d just avoided talking about her in third person, as soon as he knew there was ambiguity.  
“I’m not surprised I’m the first.” The Captain leaned forward, arms settling onto his knees. “Humans in this age are just so… set in their ways. Hell, if they weren’t so intent on the whole gender thing, I probably wouldn’t even pretend to have one. I don’t usually mind it too much, though. Isn’t worth the effort for me.”  
 “Understandable. Do you use they/them pronouns?”  
A shrug. “Like I said, it doesn’t really matter to me. Most people use he, which I guess is as accurate as anything else.” Captain Jack turned partly to face her. “So what happened?”  
Damn that man and his stubborn sense of duty, or curiosity. Loki took in a sharp breath. “I would very much rather talk about something else.”  
“Loki—”  
“This planet is not in danger.” Her right arm finally left the back of the bench, rubbing at her eyes instead. “This universe is not in danger, or at least not yet. I do not know if he will be able to reach us here eventually, but at least for the time being, this universe is safe enough amongst its millions of compatriots. I disguised the entrance to your ‘Rift’ when I first left this universe again, so it should be no more visible to Him than any other.” That had taken some time, and Loki had been forced to stay in her original universe in order to weave the disguise. So naturally, to ensure her basic needs were taken care of, she had ousted Odin to a retirement home and taken his place in Asgard, at least until Thor came along and _ruined_ the game. The time on Sakaar before that dolt of a brother arrived had been more than sufficient to finish the job.  
Jack was obviously unhappy with this answer. “You sure you can’t share anything a little more detailed?” At Loki’s silence, he capitulated. “Fine.” He stood, trench coat whispering across the wood of the bench as he did so. “If I help you take your mind off of whatever happened, will you keep me posted about this universe-destroying threat?”  
There was a few seconds of hesitation, during which Jack tried to keep as still as possible beneath the alien’s calculating stare. Finally, Loki answered, the faintest of sparkles returning to her eyes. “I must admit, Captain, you are as lovely as ever. I suppose I must take you up on your offer.” Movements slow and careful, the alien dragged herself to her feet. “I don’t drink, but I would certainly appreciate your company.”  
“So.” Captain Jack smiled, and the sight was as charming as ever. “Where do you wanna go?”

~~~

 _Fuck,_ Jack was glad he and Ianto had a mostly-open relationship. Ianto was amazing, and the love of his life, but—he wasn’t usually in the mood for sex, whereas Jack had the libido of someone who had made it a sort of secondary goal in life to fuck as many different sentient species as possible for several decades. And Loki? Loki was just… astonishingly good at this. They’d wandered about for a while, gotten coffee. Jack had told the alien about this universe and this Earth, and in return Loki had talked about Asgard, and some of the other aliens they’d spent time with. After a while, the two of them went back to Jack’s apartment—Loki, apparently, had yet to find a place to stay besides the park—and continued their chatting. Partway through, the alien had switched bodies again, into something wiry and androgynous, and then one thing led to another, and… here he was.  
“Fuck, Jack.” A hand unseen brushed a few strands of hair from where they rested over the blindfold. “Your mouth is practically a miracle worker.” The surprisingly cool weight where Loki lay plastered against him shifted with the sound of sheets, and moments later light returned to his eyes as the blindfold dissolved into air. Once the dim light settled in his vision, Jack gazed up at god before him, still flushed from their recent pleasures. Was that—oh wow. Loki’s hair was still mostly clean from the shower, and reflected off its dark sheen climbed two golden spires, horns sprouting from the alien’s forehead to loop down at the tips. The hair itself flowed into a delicate knot at the back of their neck, and below that…  
“You _are_ bruised.” Jack licked his lips, one hand trailing up to brush the discoloration covering the god’s neck and right shoulder. He couldn’t see it terribly well in the dim light, but it was almost like a… handprint. Loki flinched away at the touch, like some wounded animal. “Sorry.”  
“My apologies,” the alien’s stare flicked to the ground, and Jack could feel the tenseness returning to their muscles. “You understand why I requested the blindfold on your part, Captain. I am hardly a beauty to behold, especially at the moment.”  
“No, no.” the protest was soft. “I’m just worried about you.” Jack sat up beside them, continuing his visual survey of the other’s body. “And I’m glad you feel okay about letting me see you, now.”  
A bitter chuckle. “That would be a bit of an overstatement, actually. I simply…” Loki trailed off. “You are an infinitely better man than I, Jack.” The horns melted, fading back into their skin with the now-familiar golden light. “It would not be right, to leave without letting you fully perceive the creature you have so greatly pleasured.”  
“You’re not a creature, Loki. You’re a person, you’re so much more than that—”  
“No.” The alien pressed a sad, lingering kiss to Jack’s lips. “I am so much less.” They stood, motions fluid once more, as they had not been earlier that day. In the brief seconds before Loki turned to walk to the shower, Jack noticed something else: thin lines of red, branching out like fingers from a nasty, perfectly circular burn on their neck. Electrical? There was that one type of burn, he thought, Lichtenberg figures, that resulted from lightning, or high-voltage shocks. That was what it looked like. And along their stomach was another serious bruise, big and green—older than the set on their neck, or the myriad of small cuts and discolorations spread across their skin.    
 What happened?  
Loki froze, still halfway out of the room. Shit, had Jack actually said that out loud? After a long silence, the demigod finally answered, their voice just as hard as it had been that night they walked out of the cell.  
“Everything happened. Exactly as He planned, and as it always would.” Loki started walking again, with little other sign of Jack’s accidental interruption. And then, as they slipped into the bathroom, eyes glinting emerald in the light, their last words fell. “Everything, from beginning to end."

 

**Author's Note:**

> Specific CWs: (Heavily) implied sex, references to sexual assault and imprisonment, implied torture (mirroring what showed up in the movies).


End file.
